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Greg Summers is a ’student pilot’ (in “the pilot is always learning, sense, as he has his PPL and is on to instrument work) who is chronicling his journey through a blog and video podcast available on the web at http://www.studentpilotjournal.com. He has produced 24 episodes of content, which is no small feat.  We were tickled to learn that Greg profiled both ForeFlight Mobile 2.0 and ForeFlight Checklist in his latest episode, Episode #24. Greg’s setup in the plane is very similar to ours.  We use suction mounts from RAM Mounts, place them just forward of the…

By Adam Houghton, Principal Developer Mobile applications are powerful because they are so portable. Devoted iPhone and Blackberry owners carry their devices everywhere. I’ve been known to forget my keys and I accidentally drove most of September without a license, but I never leave home without my iPhone. The emergence of location-aware, carry-everywhere mobile devices is ushering in the next great computing platform. The Internet on my desk is occasionally useful; the Internet in my pocket is always useful. But for a mobile software developer, portability brings a new set of…

Today we released a minor update to Desktop Edition to support the new 30hr TAF formats that become active tomorrow.  Please go to the download page to download this latest version. This version includes a few minor bug fixes with brand new FAA data and is a required update since the new TAF format cannot be parsed by the older versions.  Enjoy! Note: If you are using Desktop Edition on OS X, please delete this folder before installing the new version: Applications/ForeFlight The new version will be installed into Application/ForeFlight Desktop when you do the drag and drop install from the…

The latest version of ForeFlight Checklist is now available in the App Store!  New features include: New flip view for abnormal procedures - just tap the orange icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Templates in the checklist library now include abnormal procedures. Shows previously viewed checklist when starting app.  If you are interrupted by a phone call or exit Checklist, you’ll start right where you left off. Added Cessna 172I aircraft template. Improved formatting of checklist and category name on top title bar. See the new version in action in our video walkthrough!

ForeFlight Checklist It’s been a great month for ForeFlight! Our team is fresh off the release of ForeFlight Mobile v2.0.3, with across the board improvements to our flagship app. We’ve been thrilled by the reaction from the aviation community and the press - ForeFlight Mobile received top honors in this month’s Aviation Consumer, and our logo is featured at the front of every Apple Store worldwide. And finally… today we’re proud to unveil ForeFlight Checklist, our latest iPhone app. Our team has been hard at work making the perfect electronic checklist,…

Eclipse Aviation got some long-awaited good news on Friday with the announcement that the European Aviation Safety Agency has certified the private use of the Eclipse 500 twinjet. The decision allows the company to sell aircraft in 37 European countries for private use. In a news release, the company said it hopes to have commercial certification (EU-OPS 1) in time for air taxi companies to start operations in 2009. Eclipse spokeswoman Alana McCarraher told AVweb the mood at the company's Albuquerque headquarters is upbeat after a tough couple of weeks in which employee paychecks were delayed…

Another week has come and gone, it's time for another installment of our weekly photo contest. Let's dive in and get started! Brian Thorpe of St. Augustine, Florida takes home this week's top honors, in a photo submitted to our weekly contest by his subjects, Carl Pascarell and Missy Fohl. (Not to worry — we'll be sending hats for both of you guys!)

With the new administration preparing to take office in the U.S., appointments and high-profile positions are on everyone's mind. This week, we'd like to hear what you think of aviation's top office. Who should be the next FAA Administrator? Plus: See what AVweb readers identified as the top GA priority for Obama's administration.

We're not sure how many airplanes are in partnerships, but anyone who has tried to form one will tell you that the hard part is finding like-minded people to set things up. A new organization called the Airplane Partnership Association aims to use the power of the Web to do just that. APA launched its first efforts last spring and is soon to roll out a full-featured Web site that will collect some basic data about airplane wants and needs from would-be partners and connect them with compatible candidates. APA's Dave Kruger told AVweb at AOPA Expo last year that partnerships knock down — or…

FAA extended the required repacking interval for certain types of parachutes...An FAA Airworthiness Directive mandates wire-secured bolts for Diamond DA4s...A flight student in California died after being struck by the prop of a Cessna 152...Cessna's Citation Mustang is now certified in Canada and Japan.

Rest of mission proceeding well, including checkout of latches that will hold old on to the Kibo laboratory module

Canada will enforce a rule that bars airlines from charging people functionally disabled by obesity for a second seat.

In Phase 1, a Boeing-led team demonstrated a UAV could autonomously maneuver between seven standard refueling positions.

The Italian government is greenlighting the takeover of Alitalia by a consortium of Italian investors.

A standard receiver can't pull the two messages apart, so they are discarded and have to be retransmitted

Permit me this a brief detour from covering aircraft and allow me to introduce you to my friend Jake Brewer. Jake's Dad work's for GM in Tennessee. GM has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember, and now GM is staring down the spectre of a bankruptcy that has the potential to take an entire US state down with it. I, like Jake, am torn over what to do. What is the role of government? Can a business really be too big to fail? Or just too big? I'll let Jake speak for himself and what GM has meant for his family and this country, I think you'll appreciate Jake's thoughts on…

Ford Motor Company has a market cap of $3.01 billion at 3:31 PM. A bit of afternoon blogger snark:That means you could buy Ford for about 12 of the aircraft Alan Mullaly helped to invent.For a point of comparison, that's 20% of the 777s that Emirates operates. How's that for irony?

Call me crazy, but I always felt Project Runway was a show that should've been about airports. So much for that plan. Beginning today, a hat trick of new runways opens up at three major airports across the US. Airport expansion is quite rare here in the US and seeing three huge new runways opening simultaneously is unheard of. Airports are more likely to be closed in the United States rather than opened.My home airport, Washington-Dulles got its first new runway since it opened in 1962. Runway 1L /19R is 9,400 feet long and appears to be accessible only by Taxiway Tango currently. For this…

I went spelunking in the United States Patent and Trademark Office cave and came out with a gem of a find. Its title: AIRCRAFT. Clever, I know. This AIRCRAFT patent (filed by The Boeing Company) claims to depict "The ornamental design for an aircraft." It does not disappoint. There's not a whole lot of textual meat to the application, which is why the visuals are so important.Patent D0580864 looks pretty radical. Two cabins with stadium style forward sloping seating with a two level lounge area separating the two cabins. It may kill cargo capacity, but it sure looks interesting. It would…

Right now in Everett, twin 787s are undergoing final assembly with red painted rudders. Dreamliners Three and Four are destined for Northwest. I've had the pleasure of seeing both at various states of assembly in South Carolina, Kansas and Washington. Dreamliner Three will forever hold a special place in my heart, as it was the first 787 I stepped aboard back in May.The now-approved merger of Delta and Northwest has provided this blogger with much Photoshop fodder over the past several months. Whether it was their respective fleets side by side when the merger was first announced or the first…

What goes 200 knots, has two engines, features a Garmin G1000 cockpit, is certified for flight into known ice, and comfortably seats six in luxury? If you said a Beechcraft G58 Baron, you’re right! If you haven’t had a chance to fly a Baron yet, you need to do it. Sure, it’s not a fancy jet or a turboprop. But the Baron represents the top echelon of piston ownership for many pilots, and there are countless reasons why. You could start that list with all-weather capability, a large cabin, good useful load, and of course, the excellent flying characteristics of a Beechcraft.

Come for the Star Trek trailer; stay for the sequence in which a Douglas DC-3 tries to outrun a SIAI-Marchetti SF.260TP. Here’s a brief clip of the scene, courtesy Fandango. Want to know more about the Marchetti? See Marc Cook’s July 2000 article in AOPA Pilot. And feel free to weigh in with your opinion of the flying sequence (how realistic was it?) in the Comments section.

In more than 20 years writing for AOPA Pilot I’ve had the privilege of flying more than 100 models of airplanes. One of the most memorable was a Cessna Caravan on amphibious floats. I spent a couple of days piloting the big airplane around Long Island Sound, even landing on the East River in Manhattan. It was great fun and I was impressed at how easy it was to manage the hulking airplane. It was truly like flying a Cessna 182. So, too bad that in the future some pilots will miss out on the fun. You see, the U.S. Army is working on a version of the Caravan that will be…

I was in Miami writing about NASCAR drivers who are pilots, and that included taking a look at the huge fleet of NASCAR aircraft that move the car teams around the country. All aircraft at left are NASCAR planes at Kendall-Tamiami. Notice the prominent racing name.   For the race at Homestead Miami Speedway the crews use primarily Tamiami, but several use Homestead General Aviation Airport as well because, although it has shorter runways, it is closer. I no sooner showed up at Homestead Executive Jet Center than James Starkweather, husband of the owner of the Jet Center and owner of the…

One of the newest pilots in the country is NASCAR race-car driver Kyle Petty, who passed his checkride recently in Concord, North Carolina, in a Cessna 172. Petty already owns a Columbia 400 and is in the process of transitioning to his beautiful new airplane. You’ll see it for yourself in a video to accompany an upcoming article in AOPA Pilot. In that same video, you’ll find out what Matt Kenseth thinks of his new Mooney and hear how aviation comes to the rescue of busy drivers and crew on the circuit. Kenseth qualified third at the Homestead Miami Speedway at an average speed of…

Biplane Clips Cow - Watch more Animal Videos (Note: You see the cow about 55 seconds into the video)For all you animal lovers out there, the above video is probably worth giving a miss. The uploader definitely saw the funny side: A cow winds up on the receiving end of this plane. Guess the pilot had a major beef with her. If anyone knows the aircraft that is being flown please let us know!

As long as the British Airways 777 inquiry is tying up its resources, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch is probably fairly grateful for recent incidents such as the one involving a Beech Baron landing at Guernsey.   Its report starts like this:   The aircraft was for sale, and on the return flight the aircraft commander occupied the right seat and the prospective purchaser, who was an experienced pilot but not current on type, occupied the left seat.   And ends like this:   The commander did not apply any braking during the initial landing roll and…

Santa Paula is Steve McQueen's last hometown and it's paying tribute to its most famous resident with a weekend of aviation activities as well as promoting its Aviation Museum. Steve McQueen's wife Barbara will be signing copies of Steve McQueen: The Last Mile, a book that captures unique images of the actor who loved vintage aircraft, motorcycles and cars and admired the men who flew and drove them. Barbara McQueen says that this is her first trip back to Santa Paula since her late husband's death in 1980. "Santa Paula was Steve's church and he really loved the city with all of his…

The crew of Apollo 8, who flew to the Moon on Saturn V 40 years ago next month will reunite live on NASA TV today. The prgramme will be broadcast LIVE on www.nasa.gov on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 1:30 p.m. EST. The show will feature Apollo 8 crew members Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders.   The crew for the Apollo 8 spacecraft L-R: James A. Lovell Jr., William A. Anders, Frank Borman, 1968. Picture credit CSU Archives / Everett Collection/Rex Features During the 60-minute programme, the astronauts will discuss the epic December 1968 lunar orbital mission and how the…

As the QE2 sets sail from Southampton today for a life in Dubai met by Emirate's A380 , I found that Flight recorded other events involving flypasts over notable ships.   Picture credit: Guy Moores - QE2 moored at New York Harbour, October 2008 In 1936, Flight ran an advertisement comparing the aerodynamism of the prototype aircraft Airspeed "Envoy" Series II with the "dynamic principles of the ship, the Queen Mary, which it says, earned its name as 'Queen of the Atlantic' because of its "economic speed". On 2 November 1967 in Flight International's Straight…

aeroG: AeroGo|POST: @AeroTweets Update http://tinyurl.com/5zggt7 Anyone interested in aerospace should read that intro. Please send them the link!

aeroG: @TUAW Non-Apple Mac applications I'm using *right now*?: DEVONthink, Excel, Entourage, Camino

aeroG: via @mlaine, @jdale Free Audible.com d/l of Seth Godin's book Tribes http://twurl.nl/4nlyuq Q&A eBook http://twurl.nl/4cje0l Thanks Michael!

aeroG: @jenniferwhitley Changing @reply to Everyone http://tinyurl.com/29wnjw is 1 of first things users should do. Several have thanked me for tip

aeroG: @pixetell Agree email needs to be re-engineered. Far prefer asynchronous email/Twitter vs phone/mtg interrupts, but few know how to use well

Well, while everyone in business aviation seems to be looking at their bottom line, the folks at Emivest (formerly Sino Swearingen) found a brief diversion in monitoring the ground speed of their SJ30 business jet between London and Dubai last week. The speedy little jet covered the 3,470 miles at an average speed of 488 mph to claim the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) record for aircraft weighing less than 20,000 pounds. Emivest Chairman Buti Saeed Al Ghandi said the SJ30 "is completely built for speed," and noted it also set a record from San Antonio to Dubai last year.

Thanks to the credit crunch and a burgeoning inventory of used business jets, financial analysts are busily rewriting the fairy-tale forecast for business aviation and are predicting a steep decline in orders and deliveries over the next three years. As little as six weeks ago, the predictions were that business aviation would continue to grow through 2010 and then level out or decline modestly. But now the Montreal Gazette is reporting that independent reports by two UBS analysts, Fadi Chamoun and David Strauss, point to the market's peaking this year at 1,080 business jet deliveries…

About $1.5 billion worth of deals were announced at the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) show in Dubai this week. The show wrapped up Tuesday with the announcement that Cessna had concluded $90 million in deals that included the sale of three Columbus large-cabin bizjets and four other aircraft to undisclosed buyers. The Nov. 16-18 show was attended by virtually all business aircraft manufacturers, including Eclipse Aviation, which skipped AOPA Expo earlier this month. Grob Aerospace was absent from MEBA as it grapples with insolvency in Germany. According to the Khaleej Timesthe strain…

Eclipse Aviation employees who have contacted AVweb b this week are back at work and say they've been paid for the first half of the month. There has been the inevitable speculation about what will happen on the next payday, but Eclipse's usual spokesperson has not responded to repeated e-mail and phone requests for comment on the current situation. Last week the company told employees that it would not meet its biweekly payroll but it did arrange funding in time to pay workers on Tuesday. Meanwhile an increasing number of disgruntled customers are filing lawsuits to get refunds of deposits.

The NTSB will hear from the full spectrum of personnel involved in emergency medical services using helicopters at a three-day public hearing planned for its headquarters in Washington Feb. 3-5, 2009. In 2006, the NTSB issued a special investigation report that found that more than half of all EMS accidents (41 helicopter and 14 airplane) in the previous three years could have been prevented if the recommendations in the report had been followed. There have been nine fatal accidents involving EMS helicopters in the past 11 months and 35 people have died. "This is a drastic increase in…

This question comes from Sylvia: This came up recently at the airfield coffee shop: what qualifies a pilot to act as a safety pilot? Specifically in terms of the 3 take-offs and landings every 90 days in order to stay current … is it ok to take a pilot with you for safety? Or do you [...]

Freddie wrote me to ask: Hi Paul. I have waited my entire life to finally get to this point where I am able to make flight teaching my one and only. My wife has taught high school for 25 years, and that helps a great deal so now I can devote my heart, soul and mind [...]

Here’s the question Paul just sent me: Special VFR at night requires, amongst other things, that the pilot be IFR-rated. But it strikes me that there is no requirement for the pilot to be IFR-current - is that true? Seems dangerous to me. Well, Paul (great name by the way).  I agree with you that it would [...]

Here’s the question I received this morning from Jorge: Hi could you please tell me if the alternator handles all of the electrical load? It would have been easy to answer this question (yes) but I thought it would be fun to use a flash animation developed by MSAviation with some narration to demonstrate this point.  Here [...]

The FAA has just released a new web tool / service called “Lessons Learned” and it is worth checking out.  The idea behind the site of course, is learning lessons from aviation accidents.  And although the site focuses mainly on commercial transport category accidents, there is still something to be taken away for even an [...]

I wanted to briefly talk the successful destructive testing over the weekend of a 787 Dreamliner composite wing box, and point you to a fascinating video of the milestone. The test is part of the certification process – but doesn’t literally require us to “destroy” the wing box. However we did take it to the breaking point, as you can see in the photo – and that point was indeed beyond the required 150% of the highest stress the jet could experience in operation. Click on the image to go to a video of the 787 wing box destructive testing and to see some other images. Testing to…

The audiences I speak to around the globe, as well as readers of this blog are familiar with something we’ve said many times. Big commercial airplanes are challenging, complicated work, especially new (or major derivative) airplane programs. We’ve gotten another sobering reminder of that today with the announcement that we’re adjusting production and delivery schedules for the 747-8 Program. The 747-8 Freighter, which is currently in assembly, will begin deliveries in the 3rd quarter of 2010. That’s a delay from the previous plan to deliver the new freighter late in 2009. The 747-8…

Last month I promised to return to talking a bit more about my recent trip to Asia, Australia and New Zealand. During those visits, something that always seemed to come up was the environment, and questions about what the aviation industry is doing to reduce its overall 2% carbon footprint. Well the answer is our industry is doing a lot. Sustainable bio-fuels, composite technology, new aerodynamic designs and air traffic management advancements are just a few of the focus areas. Just today, Boeing and Air New Zealand announced that they're going to be conducting a sustainable biofuels test…

This was the first U.S. presidential election since we started blogging. So as we mark Tuesday night’s election results which will usher in a new administration in January, I wanted to share with you a couple of items to whet your appetite and discussion on what the changes in Washington might bring to the world of commercial aviation. Bloomberg has a story about how President-elect Obama might impact issues such as unions, air traffic management, and foreign ownership of airlines. This AP item touches on a variety of topics, including the Federal Aviation Administration and modernization…

KUALA LUMPUR – In Malaysia at the moment, attending the 24th International Air Cargo Forum and Exhibition, where we’ve just released Boeing’s World Air Cargo Forecast for 2008/2009. I think you’ll find it of interest in light of the current economic environment. Essentially, we’re seeing that air cargo traffic will continue to grow over the long term. Even though we’re experiencing near-term market weakness and worldwide economic uncertainty, the forecast is that world air cargo traffic will grow at a 5.8% annual rate over the next 20 years. Worldwide air freight traffic will…

I had a nice flight on Sunday with my friend, Jimmy Young. Jimmy had a mishap and pranged his Firestar. Luckily he didn't prange himself! His cage is being worked on to correct various bent tubes, but his Kolb aircraft...

The final step of putting the patch on the wing was, of course, to paint. Matching the colors and the paint scheme is important because, well, I don't want the patch to look like a patch! With the PolyFiber system,...

Earlier this month a NASA-funded General Aviation Technology (GAT) Challenge took place in Santa Rosa, California. Interestingly, 4 of the 5 aircraft entered were Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). Paramount in the creation and execution of this challenge was the NASA-selected...

Now that the patch is in place, and all the UV undercoating has been sprayed on, the "only" thing left to do is to paint it. First though, it's always a good idea to start with a "base white" color,...

Keep moving forward! I've ordered the 3 paint colors I need: Insignia White, Ag Cat Yellow, and Santa Fe Red... don't those sound really nice? Well, they do look nice, and while it's not what I would have done, the...

Well, well, well. Longtime readers of PlaneBusiness Banter know that I have, more than once, knocked Southwest Airlines' and their efforts to court business travelers -- if the airline was not going to have a presence in New York City. Not too long ago, I was listening to three businessmen on their way to Dallas lament about the fact that yes, they would fly the airline more if they just flew to New York. But as it was, they were "stuck" with flying American because they had no choice. Yes, well, my point exactly. Corporate travel managers found it hard to take the airline seriously as well,…

Greetings earthlings. Yours truly is in Dublin, Ireland this week, having been asked to be the token U.S. representative on the opening panel discussion at the 10th annual Ground Handling International conference. Things I have been impressed with so far at the conference: Turnout. There are more than 400 people here, and very few are from the U.S. Since the target number for the conference was right around 400 --the turnout was just as expected. Bravo - considering the current industry and economic conditions. Vendor participation: Again, one of the strongest we've seen at any industry…

Subscribers can now access this week's issue here.

Earlier this week I talked about how I had been rather inundated with emails from Southwest Airlines' pilots (and other employees) concerning the airline's announced codeshare agreement with Mexican carrier Volaris. Since that time, the email bag has continued to fill up. Now, not only am I hearing from pissed off Southwest pilots, I'm hearing from other Southwest pilots who tell me, "Well, if you have the highest paid pilot group in the country, what do you expect Gary Kelly to do?" One Southwest pilot wrote me, "You can't have it both ways. We are blessed with the contract that we have and…

Hello there, Godzilla here. I know it's been a while since I've graced the pages of PlaneBuzz, so to speak. I won't give the old "I've been too busy" because I hate when people use that as an excuse. No, I've not been too busy to write, perhaps I didn't think I had anything of value to add, though some would say I never let that stop me before. I've been filling my time doing some very un-airline/aviation stuff, some would say going back to my routes, er, roots. I'll fill you in later on that though, because I want to talk about the Texas - Two Step Delta is doing with their hub in…

Hawker Beechcraft looks for a new CEO. A subcontractor reports a financial hit from the shutdown at Eclipse. And Brazilian police accuse 10 people of negligence in the TAM Airlines crash.

Hawker Beechcraft looks for a new CEO. A subcontractor reports a financial hit from the shutdown at Eclipse. And Brazilian police accuse 10 people of negligence in the TAM Airlines crash. Sponsored By... www.garmin.com www.diamondaircraft.com http://caravanpostcards.com/ www.cirrusdesign.com www.clarityaloft.com

Recently, Aero TV sat down with Ralph Royce -- Aviation Legend, Pilot, Warbird Jock and Air Show Expert, to discuss the job of an airboss, and his reflections on almost three decades in that role. We'll hear his comments today. FMI: www.icashq.org Sponsored By... www.garmin.com www.diamondaircraft.com http://caravanpostcards.com/ www.cirrusdesign.com www.clarityaloft.com

ANN's Paul Plack talks with Alan Lyscars, AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer for the Biddeford Municipal Airport in Maine. Supporters of the airport beat back an election day referendum to close the airport, and there are lessons for users of airports everywhere. FMI: Biddeford Municpal Airport Sponsored By... www.garmin.com www.diamondaircraft.com http://caravanpostcards.com/ www.cirrusdesign.com www.clarityaloft.com

Alitalia has been sold. Finally! A bailout for Detroit may look alot like the airline bailout. And Boeing will lay off 800 in Wichita.

Airline's Goose Was Cooked By Passing Truck Earlier this year, ANN reported on a story from Unalaska, AK that probably sounded a little foreign to most residents of the lower 48.

First-Ever Ground Test Marks Historic Milestone Right on schedule, on Thursday a team comprised of NASA, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Orbital Sciences Corporation and Alliant Techsystems successfully performed a ground firing test of the abort motor for the Orion crew exploration vehicle Launch Abort System at ATK's Launch Systems facility in Promontory, UT.

Includes Government Officials, Airline Execs One of the basic tenets of aviation regulation in much of the world is that the use of criminal penalties should be a last resort, to avoid creating an environment which discourages the reporting of safety problems.

Plane Makes Safe Landing At IGM The pilot of a Glasair II sport plane was no doubt surprised when the plane's left door departed the aircraft while in flight... but that pilot probably wasn't as shocked as the Kingman, AZ family below.

"The clock was ticking. We'd taken the cells out of their culture media an hour before. We thought about driving to Barcelona, but that would have taken too long... We had a couple of conversations, and within two hours the surgeon was in Bristol -- with his private jet." Source: Professor Martin Birchall, lead researcher among a team of British, German, and Spanish doctors who partnered on the effort that resulted in the first-ever transplant of a donor trachea, or windpipe, into a patient without the need for immunosuppresants. The novel novel medical procedure almost didn't…

Carol Ann Garratt and Carol Foy are gearing up for another 'round-the-world flight, and this time they're hoping to break the speed record. Once again, the flight will be used to raise awareness of ALS and inspire donations toward ALS research.

In an earlier podcast, we spoke to Blackstone Labs about the optimum interval between oil changes. Today, Blackstone's Kristin Huff returns to demystify the process of oil analysis.

Tough economic times are providing great opportunities for many AVweb readers who are looking to buy an airplane. One of the most popular ownership options, of course, is a partnership. But how do you find compatible partners — people who have the right budgets, flying schedules, maintenance needs, and resources to complement you? The Aircraft Partnership Association can help, with a bevy of online resources ranging from a partnership matching service (think online dating) to spreadsheets and industry data. The APA's David Kruger gave us the low-down on their no-cost, membership-based web…

This month's IFR Refresher Audio Series focuses on the subject of FAA medical certification. Editor Meredith Saini interviewed Dr. Michael Greene, who has served as an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) since 1980 and as an internal medicine doctor in private practice in Gaithersburg, Maryland since 1978.

Putting together a new panel can be a painstaking process, involving hours' worth of research, measuring, and comparison shopping — but Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Company hopes to make that a thing of the past. Avionics specialist Ryan Deck explains how their new Panel Planner software suite can help you design the perfect panel for your layout, find the right intruments, and order the parts directly from Aircraft Spruce.

Just as clothing makes the man, training makes the pilot. If so, then my past week at Flight Safety International, learning to fly and teach in the Cessna Caravan, was like ditching “off the rack” menswear for a custom suit. It fit perfectly and the experience was rewarding! If you’re unfamiliar with the Cessna Caravan, think of it this way. If you were to write the next Indiana Jones movie, what single-engine turboprop would you select for Harrison Ford to fly in and out of remote airstrips, with enough hauling capacity to carry a small mercenary force? Not surprisingly... Harrison…

What started as a bad week for Wall Street has ended as an even worse week for DayJet and possibly for VLJ manufacturers counting upon a robust per-seat, on-demand air taxi business. DayJet’s website says that it “has discontinued its jet services and cancelled all future flights as a result of the company’s inability to arrange critical financing in the midst of the current global financial crisis.” While hardly a death knell... for VLJ based per-seat, on-demand air taxi services or for light jet manufacturers, it is evidence that the bubble of irrational exuberance around VLJs and…

Anyone who's studied at all seriously for a pilot certificate knows that the final hurdle is to take a checkride which is governed by an FAA PTS or Practical Test Standard. The purpose of these booklets is to standardize the process, so that checkrides given in Peoria and Poughkeepsie are the same. It also attempts to reduce subjectivity by providing objective standards to which the checkride must be flown. At some point in your aviation pursuits, you may have wondered why a particular task appears in a PTS or… why a particular question is included in a FAA knowledge test. It turns out…

Fellow blogger and friend Dan Pimentel emailed recently and asked for advice on his upcoming instrument checkride. I was flattered to be asked and sent some suggestions. One, that I tell all my clients when they’re under the hood, is to take a few deep breaths, relax and get into the “Zen of airplane.” It’s probably more correct to say to “become one with the airplane.” However, my clients understand me and usually lean back a little in their seat, become more focused on the instruments and their performance instantly improves. Dan said that made sense and asked if I could…

Like the TSA, we should assign a colored threat level for every airport in the country, based upon the current level of threat posed to the airport. If we did, San Jose's Reid-Hillview Airport would have been operating all year at a Level 4, Orange, High Threat of Airport Closure. As we reported earlier, that's because the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to study the legal issues and potential financial benefits associated with closing the airport and developing the land. It's the third time in 25 years that the airport has been in danger of closing. Yesterday, pilots in Silicon…

Here's a great blog for pilots out there to read, especially this post. The Flying Penguine is written by an ATC trainee working in the Florida panhandle. The author works some pretty complicated airspace and does a nice job of conveying what it's like to deal with a mix of military and civilian aircraft while learning the ropes. Check it out!A friend who works for a freight operator told of a controller interaction he had recently that highlights a problem for pilots flying technically advanced aircraft. Flying on an IFR flight plan, he was told by one controller to expect a particular…

Many pilots compare a trip to an aviation trade show as like being a kid in a candy store. I know at least one pilot who consciously leaves his credit cards at home so he won't buy something on impluse. This past weekend was the first AOPA Expo event I attended. Held at the San Jose Convention Center, with a static display of aircraft at nearby Mineta San Jose International Airport, I heard around 6,000 people attended the event. After a hour or so in the exhibit hall, I got that geeked-out feeling, like when I've done too much holiday shopping. That's when things start to look like this.The…

"Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. ... We - even we here - hold the power, and bear the responsibility ..."From Lincoln's annual address to Congress, December 1, 1862A screen shot from my iPhone, on November 4, 2008 at 8:01pm EST, when Barack Hussein Obama was predicted the winner of the presidential election.

I make spin training an option for private pilot and commercial candidates, but the regulations in the US require flight instructor candidates to receive ground and flight training in stall/spin awareness, spin entry and spin recovery. Instructor candidates must demonstrate instructional proficiency in these areas, too.The other day I did spin training with a flight instructor candidate (one of the areas of flight instruction that I can do while I wait for my medical status to be resolved). The aircraft we chose was a trusty old Cessna 152. In theory we could have used a Cessna 172, assuming…

As a diversion from recent events, I wanted to get on with some other posts I had in the pipeline.I received a really cool gift a few weeks ago - a Zaon MRX PCAS (portable collision avoidance system). I've been using it for over a week now and wanted to share my observations on this fascinating product. You might be wondering why an instructor who trains in TAA (technically advance aircraft) with Traffic Information Service (TIS) would need a PCAS. And the purists out there say we should just be using our eyes to look for other aircraft, not fancy gadgets. You can explain most anything if you…

This is an old story, with some new information about what happened when an Air Canada pilot became so mentally unstable during flight that the captain elected to have him forcibly removed from the cockpit. The captain made the PA announcement that amateur pilots' dreams are made of and the answer came from one of the flight attendants, a commercially licenced pilot with an expired IFR. She occupied the right seat for the remainder of the flight. It's not unusual for flight attendants to be licenced pilots. For those already pursuing a career as a professional pilot, the job of flight…

In which Aviatrix bores you with a small town newspaper. This restaurant has slow service and when I eat by myself, as I often do, that's very boring. I tried to buy a newspaper. There had been a sign at the hotel earlier saying that they had them for sale. The girl at the desk said they were a week old, and she couldn't bring herself to charge me for it, so she'd just give me one. It was the local town paper, not the national or big city paper I was hoping for. But that's okay, I took it gratefully. Better than reading the drink specials list again. Service was even slower. I think my…

Damn, it just happened again. Yesterday morning I almost skipped over this article in my news aggregator, thinking that either Google's spider or a Montana radio station had dredged up some old news. I blogged about the accident, because I'd been on one of the company's airplanes at the time it happened. A Grumman Goose crashed and burned on the BC coast while a single survivor made it out of the wreckage. I clicked through on this one in the hopes that it would point to a preliminary TSB report, but to my horror I learned that there was another such crash yesterday, for the same company.

The next morning I go out to the airport in the dark. I do my walkaround inside the warm, lit hangar. Cowlings are secure, oil is present at the proper level, all the control surfaces move in the right direction, inspection ports are all closed with fasteners in, gear is lubricated and the uplock springs are working, and so on. I'm looking for anything that might have been put together backwards, left disconnected or otherwise messed up by the maintenance work. You might think it was insulting to do this in front of the person who did the work, but it's not an expression of mistrust. My…

While the scheduled maintenance is being done on the airplane, I sleep in, laze around a bit, and then just before checkout time call the engineer for a progress check. His answer will tell me whether I should check out or extend our stay another night. He says everything is going fine, but he needs to order new brake rotors and, funny thing, he can't get a hold of anyone to sell him some on Thanksgiving Day. He says he thinks he can AOG some tomorrow morning, to arrive on a nine a.m. Air Canada flight. Ay-oh-gee is a verbed form of the abbreviation A.O.G., for "aircraft on ground". It is the…

Today I will be giving a presentation to the graduate students of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Florida Institute of Technology. I will be talking about the Thermal Protection System and also of my experience down in Houston supporting Endeavour's STS-126 mission. Just last night I applied to the Space Science Master's program at FIT. Below is a description of the degree program. I have my letters of recommendation in progress and I have to work on sending my transcripts and statement of objectives over. My goal is to have all this completed by the end of the weekend.

I've returned from Houston and I have to say that Endeavour had very little debris hits and was very 'clean'. We didn't notice anything major that would effect a nominal re-entry of the vehicle.On Flight Day 3 is when we receive the imagery taken by the crew on the ISS. The imagery is taken right before the Orbiter docks with the ISS. We then review the entire outer surface of the Orbiter for any debris hit, protruding gap fillers, or blanket anomalies with the thermal protection system. We have specified criteria for certain zones of the Orbiter that we use to evaluate and assess the…

Watching the launch from the beach was so awesome!! It was such a clear night that I was able to see the solid rocket booster separation. I'm currently in Houston and we're about to get the photos that the ISS crew will be taking of the Endeavour's Thermal Protection System (TPS). We'll then inspect the TPS for any anomalies.

Below are some photos of the segments for the Ares I-X rocket to be used in a test flight targeted for July 2009.The upper stage segments will simulate the mass and the outer mold line and will be more than 100 feet of the total vehicle height of 327 feet. The simulator comprises 11 segments that are approximately 18 feet in diameter. Most of the segments will be approximately 10 feet high, ranging in weight from 18,000 to 60,000 pounds, for a total of approximately 450,000 pounds.The bottom two photos are of first-stage segment (forward skirt). The segment is fabricated entirely of armored…

So far we're go for launch tomorrow. We now have a 70% chance of favorable weather for launch!! Be sure to keep up with live mission updates as we get closer to the countdown: http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts126/status.htmlI have some friends that I met over the summer from ISU's Space Studies Program in Barcelona, Spain. They're visiting from the Washington D.C. area, Canada, Spain, and Germany and this will be the first launch experience for most. We will all be watching the launch from the beach. It will be a good mini-reunion before I head out to Houston!

Stuart Air Show breaks attendance record - Vero Beach Press-Journal (subscription), FLBy Monique Mattiace STUART — This year’s Visiting Nurse Association Stuart Air Show attracted the most spectators in the 10 years the organization has ...US Airforce Thunderbirds To Fly Over Kenan Stadium - MyNC.com, NCBy UNC-Chapel Hill, Press Release,Just prior to the kickoff of the UNC/NC State game tomorrow, two United States Air Force T-38 Thunderbird ...[photo credit]Renowned Aviator and Clay Lacy | Air Capital Insider from blogs.kansas.comNative Wichitan Clay Lacy was in town last night to speak…

Air Force Takes Center Stage as Bulls Visit Lakers from PR Newswire: Aerospace/DefenseIn a sea of purple and gold, it was Air Force blue that took center stage as Airmen from across the country performed in honor of Air Force Week Los Angeles when the Chicago Bulls came to L.A. to take on the Lakers Tuesday at the Staples Center here.Flighttime Radio Show 34 from Flighttime Radio Show PodcastMilford and Brian are in the studio with guest Rich Davidson. Rich owns and operates the Lee Bottom Airport (64I) in Hanover, Indiana, USA. Word has it that Lee Bottom Flying Field is where Old Planes go…

Indy air show moves to June as organizers target Blue Angels -Greenfield Daily Reporter, USAAnother reason is that the move to June gives the air show the best shot at landing the Blue Angels as the headliner.Aviator Bob Hoover to receive Order Of Saint Michael TodayCalifornia Chronicle, CAAviation and flying icon, Robert A. "Bob" Hoover will be installed into the prestigious Order of St. Michael from the Army Aviation Association of America. ...Have you read Bob's book yet? I just ordered it! - Forever FlyingFlighttime Radio Show 26 from Flighttime Radio Show PodcastWe had Corky Fournof on…

A Pilot’s Story Production News from apilotsstory.wordpress.comJulie was a delight to talk with and just gave us gold during the interview. Julie has such an amazing story to tell as we all do. But to hear about her about her trails and tribulations as she worked her way into the airline world is just inspiring. She is a Spitfire for sure and I would fly with her any time. Her air show performances are a thing to see as well.NASA Invites Students To Name New Mars Rover from Aero-News NetworkPartners With Disney For Contest NASA is looking for the right stuff... or in this case, the right…

Flying over Charlotte with my mouth closed - Creative Loafing, NCThe US Army’s parachute team, Golden Knights, were scheduled to jump at Johnson C. Smith University today, but it didn’t happen. Once the elite team was up ...Photo via FlickrPreparations for Sun 'n Fun under way from RSS Feed: NewsSun 'n Fun staff and volunteers are ramping up preparations for the 35th annual fly-in, to be held at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Fla., April 21 through 26, according to John Burton, Sun 'n Fun President and Fly-In Chairman.That Little Yellow AirplaneRemembering Rob Harrison's…

NTSB is just finishing a preliminary investigation on what has to be the closest call we’ve had between a GA aircraft and an airliner in years. On September 19, 2008, at 1938 local time, a runway incursion resulted in a near-collision on Runway 6 at the Lehigh Valley International Airport, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mesa Air Shuttle flight 7138, a Canadair CRJ aborted takeoff at 120 knots skidding around a Cessna R172K that had just landed and was still taxiing on the runway. The RJ crew estimated the distance between the two aircraft at 10 feet. The conditions were night VMC. The Cessna…

How do you say you’re sorry to a passenger who just walked into the prop? It happened this week at our airport when the pilot/CFI of a Cessna 172 neglected to shut down before dropping off a passenger. Our local paper, of course, put the story on top of Page One which doesn’t help GA’s image. The lady walked forward and her arm was partially severed - I probably don’t need to be any more graphic. This happens about twice a year on average, often with a fatality, but always with serious injury. I will admit to having boarded and dropped off other pilots without a shutdown but always…

One of the first things a pilot in trouble is trained to do is ask for help. Often, ATC is the lifeline for a lost VFR pilot or an IFR flight in distress by getting them to a runway. But sometimes they can’t help. The Maryland State Police lost a medevac helicopter last month in some rapidly deteriorating foggy conditions. With two car accident victims aboard the helicopter was unable to land at the original hospital helipad and was diverting to Andrews AFB. The pilot, for reasons yet undetermined, was unable to receive the ILS and asked for an ASR approach. The controller on duty was…

VFR pilots getting into clouds is an old story. According to the 2007 Joseph T. Nall Report, 20 single engine pilots had accidents, most of them fatal, from this type of weather encounter. Everyone in the business warns against VFR cloud busting, but we don’t know how many successful attempts are made. Perhaps the odds on any particular flight are pretty good, which is why some pilots continue to press on. In many cases though, do you ever wonder why the pilot is the only one who can’t see looming disaster? ASF developed a case study on the topic which recreates one of these…

A friend called me the other day to say that several times in last few months he was vectored to an ILS in such a way that his autopilot was unable to capture the glideslope. For those who shun autopilots this may not be an issue, but for many professionals, especially those flying single pilot in high performance aircraft, routine autopilot use for an IMC approach is standard. To my knowledge all autopilots, when armed for an approach, must intercept below the glideslope for capture to occur. Diving to capture a glideslope makes it tough to stabilize the approach. My friend called the tower…

Engineers design new objects through the use of computer models, but in the end they have to verify that all the calculations produced the result they expected. That means testing the product. In the case of, say, a new carbon fiber aircraft wing, you bend it until it breaks and see what happens.Boeing just did that with a 787 Dreamliner wing and they have a video you can watch at:http://787milestones.tpninteractive.com/Thanks to the outstanding c0t0d0s0.org blog for the tipoff via Twitter.

The following letter was published in The Potomac Current and Undertow, "a blog from/for/about/to the air traffic controllers at the Potomac TRACON." It describes the safety concerns of an air traffic controller in the Washington, DC area, and is reproduced here for your information. If you have thoughts or additional information on this subject, please feel free to post a comment.November 13, 2008If you fly into Washington-National Airport (DCA) then you need to read this letter. I am an air traffic controller at the Potomac Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) in Warrenton, Virginia and…

There are reports that Eclipse has told employees they will not be paid for the last two weeks, leading some to pack up and leave. Without a new infusion of capital, the maker of the Eclipse 500 very light jet may have difficulty continuing.See AOPA Online, Eclipse reportedly fails to meet payroll.

Props to AirPigz for the tipoff via Twitter.http://tinyurl.com/5offw8

Some 10,000 travelers say Southwest is the Best Value Domestic [US] Airline. They also think Southwest has the best service and prices, but they vote US Airways for the dubious honor of Dirtiest Airline Cabin.You can read more about these results and others at the Smarter Travel 2008 Reader’s Choice Awards.“The awards honor the top American and international airlines for their commitment to providing travelers with quality service, on-time departures and ease of travel. Categories include: Best Overall Value, Best Airfare Prices, Best In-Seat Comfort, Most Reliable On-Time Service, Best…

Having been inspired by Capt’n Chris of the PlaneMadness Podcast... I started tinkering around and have managed to get Flight Line Internet Radio to stream directly to the iPhone. No jailbreaking required. Chris used Tuner Internet Radio, which is very fine app. (Tuner costs $4.99 US which I didn't mind) So following the Captain's directions... (Live ATC on your iPhone) I've successfully loaded Air Traffic Control audio streams from around the world, and they stream just fine over 3G. But as turns out the FLR stream won't work with Tuner.So I gave the FStream a try, which is a free…

"That's not flying, that's just falling with style!" - Woody, regarding Buzz Lightyear, in Toy Story Last night we took myTransponder offline for a server migration that we expected to take a couple of hours... tops. The idea was to bring the server down just after the site backup, this would insure that your data would be safe, and none of your stuff on myTransponder would be lost in the shuffle. That all worked out fine. So to be clear, profiles and data are all safely tucked away. Unfortunately we've somehow managed to anger the plesk demons. The site was completely down for most of today.

A group of secretive rocket designers have defected from NASA's rocket-building team to spearhead their own forbidden project. They spend their evenings designing Jupiter (pictured), a moon rocket they think will work far better for less money then NASA's current moon rocket, Ares, set to bring some people to the moon in 2020. i09: The Moon Rocket Project NASA Doesn't Want You to Know About ::The folks advocating for Direct 2.0 say that right out of the gate, their program is already four years ahead of the approved NASA initiative, Ares I. They imagine that they could have us flying Apollo 8…

41° 59'N 87° 40'W The irony is I'm more concerned about writing than I am about flying.  However, my dear friend Rod Rakic has asked me to blog about my pending adventure, and I am humbled to oblige. For him, I will set my concerns aside and focus on the mission: take you on this adventure with me. My name is Mandy Irwin.  I have seven and a half hours logged on a Cessna 172, and I'm co-piloting a Beechcraft 1900B from the United States to South Africa beginning Monday. It'll be the second time I take the trip in a 1900, but the first time not in a passenger seat.  (Okay, I…

Tah-dah! Here's the new myTransponder logo. Thanks to everyone who took the time to look at the various iterations of the logo. There were tons of good directions... but eventually, you've gotta pick one execution and move on. I'm pretty happy with how the final logo worked out. To help get from the initial design that I had cooked up, to what you see here... took some work. (and talent that I didn't have!) So I decided to crowdsource the work... using crowdSPRING, I posted the project and got submissions from all around the world. Who knew it would be so easy to tap talent from around the…

50 years ago, this was an ad for Pan Am's Boeing 707 jet service. This ad features rare footage of the -121 "short tail" series, and the original Pratt and Whitney JT3C straight turbojet engines. It sure looks like a glamorous ride...Things have changed somewhat since then.I'm up early tomorrow - I'll post some night flying pics when we land at our destination tomorrow morning.

Ahh, a pilot's life. Traveling all over the planet, staying in fine hotels and eating in fine restaurants, meeting beautiful people and having a 'friend-with-benefits' in every port. That's the cliche, but it ain't entirely a cliche. So there's this pilot I know.. This pilot has an ongoing romantic relationship with 2 other people at the same time. Neither person is aware of the other one's existence. This tells me that my friend pilot is a bit of a sociopath, and is also well-organized. The pilot uses a spreadsheet to make up flight schedules, then shows the fake schedules to each partner,…

Skip foward 60 seconds for an example of just how wild a rejected takeoff can be. A rejected takeoff is one of the most dangerous situations you might encounter in aviation - it's not easy to slow a large heavy object from over a hundred mph to zero in a few thousand feet. We use thrust reversers which help a little, and we use speedbrakes to increase our drag and slow down faster, but the job mostly falls upon the aircraft brakes, which are usually made with all sorts of high-tech expensive materials like carbon fiber ceramic and Kevlar (same stuff they use in bullet-proof vests), but can…

A night flight to Montreal recently. I have flown roughly as much at night as I have during the day, thanks to a stint flying night cargo and another stint flying medevacs. I like night flying - the air is usually calmer, and the airspace is less busy. The major downsides are fatigue and the fact that you can't see bad weather as clearly at night, but overall I prefer night flying.Hanging out at the Starlink FBO, keeping the electrics on and warm. I love the Starlink FBO - the crew car is a BMW and the FBO staff make a wicked cappucino. Oh, and fuel is cheaper than in Toronto, so what's not…

There is nothing like travelling for a living to make a person feel lonely. I'm sitting in Boston as I write these words, and I miss Lisa but that's not what I mean so I'm gonna try to explain it a little better.I mean that it's easy to end up driving aimlessly around a strange neighborhood in a rental car because I don't know where the locals go for fun, but I do know I don't want to sit in my hotel room all day. Try driving aimlessly around in a strange city and you'll see what I mean about feeling lonely. Maybe that's the wrong word - I feel like I'm just skimming the surface, like I'm…

This is a rather radical sounding title. But the questions was a reaction to Scott Carson's own words. Scott Hamilton, Addison Schonland and Richard Aboulafia discuss the company's programs at some length. It is our view that Boeing is sound, but clearly has seen more than its fair share of wobbly moments. The company will be tested some more now as it has to finance sales. It may get a lot tougher before it gets better. Boeing will be tested some more yet.

Its an odd name, but Tom Griffin, CEO of Travelscream.com has an interesting story to tell. First off, he does not want you to visit his website if you buy travel. But if you want to sell travel online, he sure does want to hear from you. His firm's engine powers numerous sites and provides "screaming deals" in a way that makes you think these deals are from the site owner. Sites using their services include big names like Fodor's.

At this week's conference in Hollywood, amazing news about the sheer size of this industry (if one can call it that yet) emerged. There are numerous players in the space. This podcast comes in two parts. The first part is really a briefing from PhocusWright's senior director of research, Douglas Quinby. He explains what their research discovered. It eye popping stuff. Almost certainly this is something you will start using on your travel plans. Part two is an interview with Scott Hauswirth, VP of business development at Zonder.com, one the emerging firms in this space. The impact of…

At the Phocuswright Conference in Hollywood, we were introduced to ekit (www.ekit.com), an Australian-based firm that is launching a very clever tool. Sold as a GSM SIM card, the service really is much, much more. When you buy the SIM card you get access to something you don't expect - an online travel journal - an automated one at that. Using cell towers for triangulation, the system tracks your location automatically and you can leave a trial of where you're traveling for your friends and family to keep track of you. But this is not the killer feature. The big upside in our view is the…

Rob Mark, CEO of CommAvia and publisher of JetWhine.com, shares thoughts on apparent closing days at Eclipse. We discuss the background to this plane and Rob gives a decidedly counter intuitive argument about how good this whole idea has been. Rob sees a future for little jets. We go on to talk about a range of other aviation items because that what jetjunkies do when they talk about the business.

Okay, I'm not going to hide my disappointment that Sir Richard isn't attending Virgin America's 22 November launch of Aircell's Gogo service, which will support the first-ever live air-to-ground video transmission as part of a larger "YouTube Live" event happening in San Francisco. "Richard really wanted to join us, but unfortunately, his schedule did not permit," says a Virgin America spokeswoman. The beta aircraft, GECAS-owned N638, is scheduled for takeoff from San Francisco at 1600. I'll be one of the live bloggers on board (holding out hope for a surprise appearance). So our favorite…

Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber yesterday told a roundtable of journalists at the Wings Club in NY that the German operator is still in negotiations with various Ku band-based connectivity providers but that it could offer in-flight Internet "as early as next year". It is no secret that the launch customer for now-defunct Connexion by Boeing (CBB) has been seeking a provider to assume the service requirements of CBB, allowing Lufthansa to keep the large MELCO antennas that remain attached to its aircraft. It has long been speculated that the new solution involves a relationship with T-Mobile…

What will aircraft look like in 85 years? Finnair, which is celebrating its 85th birthday, seeks to answer that question on its fun new web site Departure 2093 at www.departure2093.com One of my favourite of five visions for future aircraft is the so-called A600-850M "wide-bodied, zero-emission supersonic aircraft". This 600 to 850-seat aircraft - which looks not unlike a sharply edged paper airplane - boasts a dream interior. Entertainment and wellness services are situated under the cabin. Says Finnair: In these areas the windows are replaced with AV windows, offering zoomable views of…

British Airways (BA) yesterday revealed a mammoth deal with Thales to outfit its Airbus A380s, Boeing 787s and new Boeing 777-300ERs with the firm's TopSeries in-flight entertainment (FE) system. BA has traditionally flown Rockwell Collins IFE on its long-haul fleet, even upgrading from Rockwell's TES to digital dTES on its Boeing 747s, 767s and 777s. But Rockwell's decision not to develop IFE systems for the A380 and later the 787 took the manufacturer out of the twin-aisle market, and effectively reduced competition for new aircraft models to a Panasonic Avionics and Thales duopoly. In this…

Aircell and NASA are clients. But Oulu, Finland-headquartered EB - a developer of embedded technology solutions for the automotive and wireless industries - is only now discussing its relationship with the two firms and its ASO testing solution for the aerospace, aviation and defense markets. The solution is designed for measuring, modeling and emulating radio channel environments to enable testing of wireless communication links. Come again? Check out the following chart.   In plain speak, however, if an airline (oh lets say American) wants to introduce an Internet connection on a route…

This is a regular blog post. If you’re looking for show notes or links to show audio, please see the other entries.Mary took the kids to DC this past weekend. She, Cole, and Ella are big Obama fans. I maintain neutrality for purposes of the show in order to keep it all about aviation. But it’s very cool to see Cole, especially, so excited about government and the leadership of the country. Whatever your persuasion, there’s a definite feeling of Camelot in the nation’s capital and there’s something to be said for giving kids an optimistic experience of this kind early in life.Mary…

Subscribe to Airspeed through iTunes or your favorite other podcatcher. It's all free!These are the show notes to an audio episode. You can listen online right here by clicking: http://media.libsyn.com/media/airspeed/AirspeedYMBAP.mp3.The following was compiled from Twitter responses to an Airspeed request for things that might indicate that one is a pilot. With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy.You describe the weather in METAR code in casual conversation.You cause a traffic slowdown passing the airport because you’re scanning for traffic and identifying departing and arriving aircraft.You…

This is a regular blog post. If you’re looking for show notes or links to show audio, please check out the other entries.I attended my law firm’s partner meeting in Chicago this past weekend. On Sunday, I connected with Rod Rakic and James (jetstew on myTransponder) to have breakfast and hang out. We his Orange on Harrison for breakfast and then took a cab to the Museum of